SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Blair Oaks Falcons cut a 15-point deficit to two but ultimately ended their season with a 61-53 Class 3 quarterfinal loss to Strafford, which will be going to the Final Four for the second straight year.
Kyle Foley scored 22 points and Grant Boswell scored 19 for the Indians, who returned all five starters from last season's third-place team.
Strafford jumped out to a 7-2 lead early, and hit six of its first 10 shots to finish the first quarter up 14-10. Boswell scored his first 11 points on his own before the Falcons could get past 12, and Strafford took a 32-23 lead into the half.
"I thought early on their speed and quickness on the defensive end kept us off balance," Blair Oaks coach Ryan Fick said. "We had a hard time getting any balance offensively."
The Indians built their lead to 12 points in the third before the Falcons went on a tear, scoring 10 straight points to come within 41-39. Cody Alexander and Jordan Hair hit back-to-back 3s to start the run, and Owen Lueberring scored the other four points.
Alexander finished with a team-high 14 for Blair Oaks, and Luebbering recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Fick attributed the third-quarter success to establishing a post presence, which opened things up for the Falcons on the perimeter.
The Indians responded, however, scoring four straight points after the Falcon run and taking a 45-41 lead into the final quarter.
Blair Oaks started cold in the fourth, failing to hit a field goal until Strafford had already scored 14 points. The Falcons made just two of their 11 field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the Indians sunk four-of-seven to start the quarter.
After a Jordan Null 3-pointer and a turnover, the Falcons got the ball down six with 28 seconds to play but failed to record another point.
Stafford finished with a 47.8 shooting percentage, and the Falcons made 34.7 percent.
Blair Oaks finishes the season with a 21-9 record.
"I'm proud of these guys," Fick said. "A lot of new pieces. A lot of question marks going into the season after losing eight guys from last season.
"We only had two seniors (Null and Kory Franks), but we had some really good senior leadership the last few months."
The teams played back in February in the Central Bank Shootout, and Strafford won that game as well, 60-51.
Strafford (28-3) faces Central: New Madrid County (25-4) on Thursday in the Class 3 semifinals.